Doctor of Philosophy in Astrophysics

The Ph.D. degree will consist of a minimum of 84 semester hours of work beyond the bachelor's level. The program is designed to develop creative scholarship and prepare students for professional careers in astrophysics, astronomy or related fields.

Program of Study. Students may be admitted into the program with a bachelors or master degree in a related field. Up to 30 credit hours of master level work in a related field can be accepted towards the fulfillment of the Ph.D. requirements. The program of study for the Ph.D. will be selected with the recommendation of the student's supervisory committee, and should include sufficient coursework to assure mastery of fields such as classical mechanics, quantum mechanics, statistical physics, electrodynamics, and/or other core subjects in addition to those covered in the six-course core AST sequence. Each program of study must include 24 semester hours of a combination of Research and Dissertation. ASU, Division of Graduate Studies policies and procedures must also be met for admission to the program as well as for fulfilling the requirements of the degree.

Foreign Language Requirements: None.

Comprehensive Examination: The student's supervisory committee will determine the content of the comprehensive examination, consisting of a written and an oral examination.

Dissertation Requirements: A dissertation is required that is based on original work demonstrating creativity in research and scholarly proficiency in the subject area. Final Examination: A final oral examination in defense of the dissertation is required.

Astronomy courses (AST): AST 421 Astrophysics I. (3) Fall Selected astrophysical topics, including stellar evolution, star formation, interstellar medium, galactic structure, extragalactic astronomy, high-energy astrophysics, and cosmology. Prerequisites: AST 321, 322; PHY 311, 314. AST 422 Astrophysics II. (3) Spring Same range of astrophysical topics as for AST 421 but different specific topics are emphasized in a given year. Prerequisites: AST 321, 322; PHY 311, 314. AST 460 Astrobiology. (3) Fall and Spring Origin, early evolution, distribution, and future of life on Earth and elsewhere in the cosmos. May be repeated for credit. Lecture, discussion, video conferences, possible field trips. Cross-listed as BIO 460/ CHM 483/GLG 460/MIC 475. Credit is allowed for only AST 460 or BIO 460 or CHM 483 or GLG 460 or MIC 475. Prerequisite: instructor approval. AST 521 Stars and Interstellar Medium I. (3) Spring Radiative transfer, atomic and molecular properties, stellar atmospheres, line profiles, no local thermodynamic equilibrium, interstellar gas and dust, star formation. Prerequisites: PHY 521, 531,571 (or its equivalent). AST 522 Stars and Interstellar Medium II. (3) Fall Stellar structure, radiative transport, boundary conditions, equations of state, nuclear reactions, opacity, nucleosynthesis, chemical evolution of the galaxy, stellar evolution. Prerequisite: AST 521 or instructor approval. AST 523 Stars and Interstellar Medium III. (3) Spring Structure of the interstellar medium, gaseous nebulae, recombination theory, ionization fronts and shocks waves, galactic magnetic fields, magnetohydrodynamics, molecular clouds. Prerequisite: AST 522 or instructor approval. AST 531 Galaxies and Cosmology I. (3) Spring Structure and evolution of the Milky Way, stellar properties, populations and associations/clusters, interstellar medium, dark matter. Prerequisites: PHY 521, 531, 571 (or its equivalent). AST 532 Galaxies and Cosmology II. (3) Fall Structure of galaxies and the nearby universe, Hubble sequence, kappa-space, stellar populations, active galaxies, galaxy environments. Prerequisite: AST 531 or instructor approval. AST 533 Galaxies and Cosmology III. (3) Spring Issues in modern cosmology, the distance scale, cosmological parameters, cosmological tests, cosmic background radiation, early universe, galaxy formation and evolution. Prerequisite: AST 532 or instructor approval.